100+ Best Blogging Tools for 2018 with Expert Tips: The Ultimate List

Blogging is a journey. Blogging is an art. What not. However it’s not easy as most people would think. Since running a blog needs more effort, people tend to give up more easily. Blogging is not all about writing. Blogging has it’s own way of becoming a success. If you want to be a good blogger, you have write better content and use better blogging tools. Blogging tools?

Blogging Tools

Whether you’re putting together a blog or taking your message to your audience, one of the first things you’ll find is a list of blogging tools needed for the job. It can be a blogging platform, it can be a plugin or it can be a third party service. We have listed most recommended blogging tools in this article. With these essential tools you’ll be equipped to tackle every obstacle on your journey.

If you have checked our comparison, you might feel that WordPress.org version seems to be comfortable to work with. You have the full control, ability to use plugins and custom themes. Yes if you want to be a serious in blogging, we wouldn’t recommend with going with WordPress.com version.

Web Hosting

There are many hosting providers available for bloggers. All of them have their own set of pros and cons.

We have listed few hosting providers we recommend but you will have to make certain choices because each hosting provider targets different set of users. As an example, we would recommend Bluehost for starters and SiteGround for the people with growing blogs to be able go the extra mile.

SiteGround – #1 hosting for WordPress as wordpress.org endorses. SiteGround is an excellent option for growing blogs. SiteGround is super fast and provide unmatched customer support. Also SiteGround offers free SSL certificates, SSD storages and caching to comply with speed and standards. Of course this is an more expensive option than Bluehost but it’s worth it.

A2 Hosting – This is the fastest shared hosting package we have ever tested. They provide excellent customer support while keeping their promises to provide a fast service. WP Snappy is also powered by A2 Hosting and it gets the job done perfectly.

WordPress Themes

WordPress themes are responsible for the website look. Here some WordPress themes we recommend.

Genesis Framework – Our #1 choice of WordPress themes. Genesis often referred as a framework which you will fall in love. It doesn’t come with bloated, unnecessary options as well as heavy in file size. It provides you the base and you can build up on in. Genesis is known as for it’s speed, SEO friendliness and vast community.

Readings:Genesis Framework Review: The Standard of WordPress Theming

Genesis Child Themes

StudioPress – When you sign up with StudioPress you will get Genesis sample theme with Genesis package. StudioPress also offers huge amount child themes at a cost.

Themeforest – Pre-made themes often come with options panel where you can handle pretty much everything at no coding experience. When it comes to beginners, we can suggest few themes like X-Theme, Avada and Bee theme.

WordPress Plugins

WordPress is known for the use of plugins. Plugins allows you to extend it’s features. We have listed must have WordPress plugins. We have tested all of them so you can use them or test them with confidence.

General

Jetpack – Jetpack is a collection of added features. It allows us to measure our visitors, add share counters, social buttons and help with the readers to quickly navigate through our content.

Akismet – Akismet in another great plugin from Automattic which comes pre-packed with WordPress and is capable of protecting WordPress sites from spams. This is a must have plugin for any website. Akismet is intelligent enough to detect spam comments with fabulous accuracy rate.

Readings:Using Akismet Spam Protection in WordPress to Prevent from Spam.

SEO

Yoast – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Backups

BackupBuddy – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

VaultPress – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Sitemaps

Google XML Sitemaps – Google XML Sitemaps plugin allows you to create XML sitemaps easily in WordPress. Also it offers you few extra options to tweak your sitemap. If you are looking for more advanced customizable options, you can use this plugin and it will be beneficial more than Yoast SEO.

Forms

Gravity Forms – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Formidable Forms – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Caching

W3 Total Cache – This plugin helps with WordPress cache. Building a cache on our website helps to deliver our website content fast and efficiently. It saves both time and bandwidth.

WP Super Cache – This is another great plugin from Automattic. Also this is the best alternative for W3 Total Cache. It’s totally up-to you to choose what you’d prefer to install. But some hosting providers have their own set of limitations for both plugins. So it really depends on the hosting service configuration in order to test what’s the best. But W3 Total Cache lets you have more control over the website cache.

eCommerce

WooCommerce – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Easy Digital Downloads – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Content Delivery Networks

CDN helps to deliver your content to people faster and efficiently. CDN is a collection of servers all over the world. When you access some website’s content from few different locations it automatically connects with the nearest data center and retrieve the data which makes it more faster than an ordinary hosting service.

A CDN fasten your site speed, reduce server load and many more. We have listed 3 best CDN services below.

MaxCDN – Now we are talking about one of the best CDN services in the world. This service has servers all around the world and all of them are using SSDs to process and to server content faster. Best thing is it’s very easy to setup with WordPress by using W3 Total Cache which gives you a head up start.

CloudFlare – This is another option you can use instead of MaxCDN. CloudFlare will not only speed up your site, it also can protect your site from DDoS attacks and wide variety of attacks.

Amazon CloudFront – For those who don’t mind for paying more for high secure and fast CDN service, Amazon CloudFront is the best option.

Keyword Research

Google Keyword Planner – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

SEMrush – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Google Trends – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Social Media

Buffer – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

IFTTT – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Productivity

Evernote – Evernote is undoubtedly the best note taking app. For bloggers, Evernote helps them to plan their content, social strategy and drafts. We use it to mark down new content ideas and to handle drafts in most of time. Evernote is everywhere. You can sync between multiple devices at once.

Bear – Bear is a award winning beautiful app for crafting notes. It is very powerful tool which could replace Evernote completely.

Todoist – This tool allows you to manage tasks and projects.

Clous Storage Partners

Dropbox – Dropbox is an award-winning cloud storage partner. Dropbox helps you to store your files in the cloud and let you access them wherever you go. In WP Snappy, we use Dropbox to store our site backups and sharable files among our members of the editorial team.

Google Drive – Google drive acts the same as Dropbox do. Only difference is Google Drive provides 15GBs of storage for our files. Google drive account comes as default with a Gmail account.

Email Marketing

MailChimp – Mailchimp has a free plan for starters which is very useful if you have no prior experience working with email marketing platforms. This allows users to get their hands on experience and it’s worth it.

GetResponse – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

ConstantContact – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Search Engine Optimization

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Photo Editing

Adobe Photoshop – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Adobe Lightroom – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Canva – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtedly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Affiliate Networks

WordPress themes are responsible for the website look. Here some WordPress themes we recommend.

Monetization Methods

Google Adsense – This is another must have plugins. Yoast helps to manage all the on-page SEO tasks with ease. It allows us to set titles, test reading score, check keyword density and many more. This is undoubtly the best plugin you can find for on-page SEO tasks. It has both free and paid versions but free version is more than enough.

Text Editors

Atom – Atom is an open source project from Github and is becoming popular among it’s users due to it’s possibilities.

Sublime Text – Sublime text is not a free text editor but it provides you a never ending trial.

FTP Clients

File Transfer Protocal (FTP in short) helps people to connect with web servers and upload, edit files. To access web servers you need to have a FTP client. These clients make it easy for people to upload files by just dragging and dropping.

Transmit – Transmit is a premium FTP client for mac which costs you around $34. It allows you to quickly connect to your server using FTP, mount your web disk into your computer. This is basically the best FTP client ever made. Only works with Mac operating system.

FileZilla – FileZilla is known among users for being very reputed for the last few years. Best thing about this amazing program is it’s completely free. Compatible with all 3 major operating systems (Mac, Windows, Linux).

CyberDuck – This is another great cross-platform FTP client for those who are looking for a simple but effective FTP client. CyberDuck has a cleaner interface, it’s fast and friendly. Available for free to use with both Mac and Windows platforms.

Content Ideas

Quora – Quora is the most popular Q&A site where people can ask questions and get answers. By using this site, you can brainstorm your content ideas significantly. Quora can help you to vastly improve your audience by writing what people want to read about.

Reddit – This is another popular forum. Using reddit you can get involved with the community you are interested it. If you are interested in the topic WordPress, there is a community for that. If you are interested in SEO community, it can also be found in reddit. Pretty much anything that matters to people.

BuzzSumo – This is another great tool you can use to brainstorm your ideas. What BuzzSumo does is, it gives you insights of backlinks that your particular keyword has got. If you search “WordPress” it gives you all the links that are linked to that keyword. Also you can write great topics using this tool.